Eldar Murtazin, the mobile industry insider who called the Nokia/Microsoft merger before anyone else, has Tweeted that the older handset will not be able to upgrade to the as yet unreleased OS. “Just one comment. Apple iPhone 3GS wont be upgradable to iOS 5.x. iPhone 4 will.”
Should we be at all surprised, though? The iPhone 3G, after all, was gifted access the iOS 4 until users reported in their droves that the slicker OS bogged their phones down. The iPhone 3GS is a near identical beast to the 3G, and we expect its limited specs compared to the iPhone 4 and upcoming iPhone 5 just won’t be able to cut it with a new, feature-rich platform.
That being said, Apple does still run the risk of alienating 3GS owners, who may rightly feel as though they’ve been cast aside. It is obviously the Cupertino company’s hope that iPhone 3GS owners will be coming to the end of their contracts by the time that both the iPhone 5 and iOS 5 are announced at WWDC next month.
Do you own a 3GS? Would this be enough to make you upgrade? Let us know your thoughts on the Gadget Helpline Twitter feed.